Urgent: About Face Theatre Facing Bankruptcy

As Chris Jones says on his blog, About Face Theatre, a Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Trangsgender (LGBT)-focused theatre company here in Chicago which hosted the original workshop of I Am My Own Wife and the Chicago premiere of Take Me Out, along with many other productions, is on the verge of shutting down. They need to raise $300,000 very soon so as to end their current budget crisis and get themselves into financial health. They are the first equity-affiliated theatre in Chicago to have trouble this bad. (Though the non-Equity House Theatre went through a similar rough spot recently, they seem to be on the road to recovery.) However, this isn't uncommon around the country, with San Francisco's Magic Theatre being the most famous example--luckily still open after a brush with death.

I have seen a few About Face shows (and wanted to see quite a few more) and always been very impressed, and I think that About Face Youth Theatre (which creates original shows with LGBT youth and straight allies) is an absolutely vital resource for this community. In fact, I wrote a paper on them for my creative drama class my last year at Northwestern. So I think it's pretty necessary that we make sure they stick around! You can give them money by visiting this site or calling Mollie Alexander Speer at 773-784-8565 x110. Let's make sure About Face stays open!